It’s a tradition that has been going on within the Scutch family for awhile now– Vitale’s Pizza takeout on Friday night. It’s the most asked-for meal in my house, and I imagine it will continue to be one for several Fridays to come.

My mom called Vitale’s Pizza around 5 p.m., with hopes to pick up the takeout around 5:30 p.m., and ordered a $20 family meal, which consists of a large pizza, a box of breadsticks and pizza sauce, a large salad, and a large pop.

The time for pickup was roughly a half hour, which includes driving time. As we drove into the parking lot, it was packed, which was expected for a Friday night. Walking in, the takeout/pickup line was very long, so I imagine several other families had the same idea as mine.

Conventionally, the dollar cost of the meal works out to be exactly $20, making change easy for both the customer and the cashier.

As we walked out of Vitale’s with our family meal, the cashier told us to grab a large pop from the fridge to take home. Though I am not one to opt for carbonated drinks, the family favorite is Diet Coke.

When we arrived home, my sister already set out plates and silverware so we could quickly indulge in the Vitale’s meal. After my mom laid out the pizza, breadsticks, salad, and pop on the kitchen counter, we went to town.

Being a classic that it is, the Vitale’s pizza did not fail our watering taste buds. The pizza crust was not too soft nor too hard, and the pizza sauce was decadent as well. Half of the pizza had onion and the other half was plain cheese. Vitale’s melts their cheese to an oven-goldness of yumminess, ultimately making it the go-to place for pizza in the Forest Hills area.

The breadsticks, in my opinion, are better than the ones of Olive Garden or other chain Italian restaurants. The bread was very fluffy, with parmesan cheese and butter layered on top of them.

The salad was very fresh. We ordered the Italian salad, tying in the Italian theme of our meal. The dressing was very creamy, and added a light side to our bread, tomato sauce, and cheese-filled meal.

Overall, Vitale’s Pizza never fails the Scutch family Friday night pizza tradition. I highly recommend it to families that are looking for something quick and easy that doesn’t require a lot of handling in the kitchen, considering it’s a $20 takeout meal of pizza, salads, breadsticks, and pop.